The rongeur is a medical instrument used for a variety of purposes. It is particularly useful for removing small amounts of bone, cartilage or other body material from inside small spaces of the knee or between vertebrae. A rongeur usually includes a long fixed shank with an anvil or footplate at its distal end and a handle at its proximal end. A cross bar slideably engages the shank and reciprocates thereon by means of a pivotable second handle. Cutting edges on the distal end of the crossbar bite against the footplate to cut away a small portion of tissue with each reciprocation of the crossbar.
In the current market place, surgeons have access to different rongeurs with typically a fixed opening length, commonly 9 mm or a 14 mm. While a fixed opening length is adequate for certain procedures, other procedures may uses multiple cut sizes repeatedly throughout the procedure, which results in the surgeon having to switch between various independent instruments frequently. In complex surgical operations, having to switch instruments often may results in delays and heightened complexities in performing the surgical techniques due to the instrument selection interruptions, distractions, or deviations of user comfort with a particular instrument. Using multiple fixed sized instruments also necessitates a greater surgical space and additional sterilization of the instruments. And, relative to the patient's health, using more instruments than are necessary in an operation may increase associated health risks with the operation, such as infections from exposure to contaminated instruments.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.